side? >> i had many secrets as a child. >> larry: thanks, jane. >> thank you. >> larry: wonderful. hope you enjoyed this hour. tomorrow night's topic is the brain. anderson cooper and "c 360" is next. christine o'donnell raking in $1 million in donations and being advised by sarah palin to talk to only friendly news outlets. tonight why shouldn't those who want to lead us be able to answer tough questions? as karl rove mentions, there's plenty to ask about how she's handling campaign money. also tonight the other big upset winner, carl paladino, is he willing to talk, joining us live tonight, sending out letters to potential voters who literally smell of garbage. who's behind the junk mail, and

what's up with the e-mails he used to forward to his friends. we'll talk to him, republican nominee join us. and a shocking story of a home invasion that turned into multiple murder. newly released video of a woman telling a bank teller her family is being held hostage and a short time later she's dead and so are her two daughters. we'll take you into the courtroom. we begin with keeping them honest with the tea party sensation, delaware's gop senatorial nominee christine o'donnell. she's trailing chris coons but in the money race she's raking it in, claiming close to $1 million in contributions in the last 24 hours alone. karl rove who dissed her primary night did something of a 180 today, and long-time supporter sarah palin gave her free advice about only talking to friendly media. watch. >> she's going to have to dismiss that go with her gut, get out there speak to the

american people, speak through fox news and let the independents who are tuning in to you, let them know what it is that she stands for. the principles behind her positions. >> it used to be new candidates were advised to brush up on the issues so they could handle questions from anyone, even tough questions, it prepared you also for actually governing. but now only talking to sympathetic reporters either left or right depending on your politics. remember jan brewer after tough questioning from a reporter? she walked away. >> why wouldn't you talk about the beheadings in the desert? >> seriously, that's a serious question, governor. >> this was an interesting evening tonight, and, of course, you saw a complete display of the difference between myself and terry goddard. >> can you answer the question, governor? please answer the question about the headless bodies. why won't you recant that? come on, governor. >> okay. thank you, all.

>> whoa, come on. >> she vowed not to debate her opponent anymore. sharron angle has a history of walking sometimes running away from unwanted questions. sometimes christine o'donnell, something christine o'donnell hasn't done so well when confronted with facts. we came across an interview she did shortly before the primary talking with dan gaffney, a radio host who backed her earlier senate bid. >> when you were speaking at an out of state group recently and told them that you won two out of three counties in delaware, what did you -- what did you mean? >> i don't think i ever said i won two out of three counties, but i -- >> let's listen to the audio, i have the audio right here. >> i was the 2008 endorsed candidate against joe biden and i won in two counties. we didn't have the support of our liberal republicans then. >> you said you won in two counties. >> you know what that probably was, you're on the campaign trail a lot, i meant tied. >> well you didn't die.

>> you've got a tracker following you waiting for you to trip up. >> christine, christine, i'm just saying why you didn't tie him, either. >> look at the results. >> i did. he beat you. it was close. >> and what did they say, 49-49? i call that a tie. >> no, christine, he won in votes. you know that. >> that was wgmd's dan gaffney. we'll see if o'donnell takes palin's advice and only talks with like-minded interviewers. long ago she appeared on mtv and bill maher, she spoke from her heart. i mentioned primary night, today walking it back a bit saying he was dishing up straight talk as a fox news analyst pointing out he did endorse her, quote, for the republican in each and every race. but he also repeated the original criticism. >> then she needs to also be able to answer these questions about her personal background, explain how she got behind on her taxes, her mortgage, why she

didn't take care of that college bill and just in a way frank and honest. everybody in their life sometimes has difficulties. and honesty and candor is the best remedy here. she can't get away with saying the answer is on my website or it's puzzling to me why the irs would file a lien for me in 2005. if she's honest she has a shot to win but it's got to be factual, passionate and hard hitting. >> gary tuchman has been crunching the numbers on how the candidate spent some of the dollars from her last campaign. what have you learned? >> reporter: christine o'donnell, speaking at a candidate's forum here in williamington, delaware, tonight says america cannot spend its way to recovery but tonight major questions about her spending at the very least, the questions are troubling at the very most she might have violated election laws. we have documents right here that show christine o'donnell spent a lot of money object wha

on what appears to be personal effects and it was campaign money, the spending occurred three months after she lost to joe biden in 2008, a year before she announced she was going to run as a candidate in 2010. the federal election commission allows you to spend money after a campaign to retire debt. but not to add to the debt. and she has lots of debt from 2008 which troubles a lot of people. they think it's hypocritical because she wants america to spend what it has. but let us show you some of the checks and you decide for yourself if she should have written these checks from her campaign money. for example, a check for 475 bucks, she labeled it as mileage reimbursement. remember, this is three months after the campaign is over. she submitted this with campaign funding. also $157 on a phone bill from verizon wireless. by all indications this say personal phone. also $28 at a gas station in a town where she's originally from, morestown, new jersey. this is campaign money, no campaign going on.

$600 for her utility bill paid to delmarva power. also piddly expenses and these are tell-tale. you wouldn't have to spend this for a campaign, let alone a campaign not going on anymore. $19 at pike lanes, a bowling alley, paying for about eight games of bowling. also $26 for a meal at ruby tuesday's restaurant. campaign money once again, and then she even used campaign money for a $2.84 charge at staple's. in addition she paid rent money with her campaign funding. now the home she lives in right now doubles as her campaign headquarters. she live there's sometime, so do her campaign workers. but the money for her rent was paid during a time when she was no longer in a campaign. now, we can tell thaw her detractors say she does this because she hasn't had a real job for years. she has no source of income. she needs to live on campaign money. of course we wanted to talk to her about, it i talked to a top aide face to face last night, said we have a lot to ask her fw, they said she's too tired to

talk to you, i heard nothing, i saw her today asked if we could talk to her, her aide said she did not want to talk. we've talked to employees of hers who quit. they say they were not paid money they were owed and they are angry she has spent so much money on charges like we just read to you. >> supporters say this is just democrats trying to dig up dirt on her and that these amounts were kind of small amounts, couple hundred dollars here, a couple hundred there. what does the state republican party have to say? >> reporter: right, the state republican party here in williamington, delaware, the chairman of the party before the election was strongly in favor of mike castle. what's being said now is that they came up with a statement, they will support all republican candidates but conspicuous by its absence was no mention of this particular candidate, christine o'donnell. i asked does that mean you're not supporting her, you are, they wouldn't comment. we're talking about former employees, this is important. today we talked to a former financial adviser who worked for the campaign for two months and

said he had to quit as a financial adviser because he was aghast at what he saw. >> she would withdraw money for mileage she does not own a car. didn't own a car at the time. and you can only do one or the other. take a mileage expense or gas. she was doing both. >> reporter: she's not even running for anything. >> no. she should have been paying anything left over and anything that came back in should have been paying off debt. none of that -- >> reporter: she was using it to go bowling. >> yeah. >> reporter: as a campaign expense. no campaign. >> and paying rent. >> reporter: and paying her rent with it. >> yeah. >> there's also been a lot of questions raised about her college record. what have you learned about that? >> reporter: she has very much stressed throughout her life that it's never proper to lie, that you should always tell the truth, but many people who know her, many people who used to work with her say they've always assumed she was a college graduate because she told them she went to fairleigh dickinson university in new jersey in the 1980s. turns out she wasn't a college graduate, just this summer she

graduated college. had to take an additional course. there were apparently financial issues but was telling many people she was a college graduate and it turns out she wasn't. also another issue that comes to the credibility factor, her last job that we know was in 2004. it was for a conservative think tank here in will mington. >> and she ended up getting fired from that job. she ended up suing them claiming gender discrimination. and suing them for $6.9 million. now, the reason why that's relevant, and the case was dropped, don't know why she dropped the lawsuit, she did say she couldn't afford it but we don't know if there's more to it, there's so many, particularly in the tea party, aghast at our legal system and that people sue for so much money and she sued for $6.9 million. as far as the people at that conservative institute, they say they can't talk on camera because they don't want to stir up a legal hornets nest but they do imply she's lying. one quote, the good reputation of the institute stands for itself.

now it is important to tell you that if this forum tonight and all over the state of delaware there are many supporters of this woman. obviously she got lots of votes, she won the primary. still they know there are these accusations, they feel it's a witch hunt. we talked to those active in the tea party and they say they're standing by their candidates. >> it makes me feel once again just like she's just like me. and just like a lot of the other delawarians that have had problems paying their mortgage, have, you know, taken years to pay off their school loans. i just feel like she's one of us. >> and who during all this time was the treasurer of her campaign? >> reporter: this is really interesting. under fec laws you must have a treasurer when you're spending campaign money. according to the documents we've investigated for 13 months between july 2009 and between august 2010 while she was spending money there was no treasurer. the treasurer was christine o'donnell. that appears to have violated

fec laws but the fec has to determine that. why haven't they determined that yet? there has to be an investigation and we've just been informed that a nonpartisan watch dog group is filing a complaint this monday with the fec about all the information and more that we just told but. anderson? >> gary, thanks. let's bring in senior political analyst david gergen, political analyst roland martin and ari fleischer. roland, what do you make about this? is this much ado about nothing? gary uncovering those checks written with campaign funds, small amounts. >> three words, integritity credibility and honesty. when people in the tea party are protesting saying the president of the united states and this congress is lying, when they say they cannot trust the word coming out of elected officials, these are critical matters. and i think sarah palin is disingenuous and ridiculous to assert you should only talk to

fox news and only talk to friendly people. if mcdonnell wants to have the integrity and be a member of the united states senate she should have the guts to stand in front of the media and answer these questions if she has a plausible answer, fine, give it. but stop trying to run from it. deal with it head on and not ignore it. >> ari, what about it? is this nit-picking by democrats? >> i think these are issues she's going to have to deal with. that's what campaigns are about. but i think what's also going on here is two things. one in a year in which people are really fed up with excess spending, the huge amounts of government waist and the debt our government have these foebls people have are side issues. but there's another issue that rilz up the conservative base of the republican party and that's the mainstream media. i think there's a real sense here that this is overkill. where is the coverage of charlie rangel's win in harlem where you have one of the most corrupt members of congress who got

reaffirmed by the people of his district to come back to washington, what does that say and mean about the democratic party? and when it comes to all the gaffe that's she was making in her statements, if gaffes disqualify you from office joe biden never would have made it to the vice presidency but he get's pass from most of the national press corps. >> oh, come on. >> there's a strong sense that when these things happen to conservative, particularly women candidates, sarah palin and now christine o'donnell, there is a piling on factor that doesn't similarly happen with candidates on the other side of the aisle. >> david, do you think that's true? >> do i? >> yeah, do you? >> not really. my friend ari and i disagree on some of this. he talks about flaws, these are not flaws these are fundamental issues. this is a candidate trouble with money, trouble with jobs, trouble with the truth. those are pretty fundamental to any candidacy. i think the interesting thing, anderson, in all of this is the republicans brought up these issues during the campaign.

you know, the castle campaign ran against her based on a lot of this. advertisements bringing this to public attention. i think a measure of how angry the people in the tea party are, how frustrated they are, that they're willing to overlook all this and say we still want to send a message. >> that's the point i'm making, when an election is driven so much by substance and policy, the spending problems in washington, that's i think why people are willing to, in an election cycle like this, to not weigh those measures as seriously. >> roland, a quick break but we'll have our panel continue just on the other side of the break. the live chat is up and running. do you think this is important? weigh in from home or wherever you are, just ahead, also joining us, carl paladino, the bigger upset winner from primary night. he's now sent out garbage-scented letters, we'll talk to him about that. and heart wrenching moments in a murder trial, this is the

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talking about christine o'donnell, she's got enthusiasm on her side, a tidal wave of money and controversy. roland you were about to say something? >> i get the mainstream media, we need to bring up charlie rangel? the voters in the primary elected her. the allegations placed against rangel, the voters there elected him. whatz the difference there? you should, as a person who

stood and represented the president, you should be saying to her, answer the questions. this isn't piling on. and to suggest we are overspending in washington and people are tired of that, if you are spending campaign money for personal reasons, how are you then going to handle the people's money if you're put in the u.s. senate? it's about trust. >> roland, rewind the tape. the very first thing i said is these are issues she is going to have to answer to. that is. >> yeah, but start justifying it by blaming the media. >> here's the point. her opponent is getting no scrutiny. he wrote a paper when he was in college, i saw this today on the internet and it's true, that he described himself as a marxist with a beard. what are the issues in this? yes, she deserves scrutiny and has to give answers but right now the arrows and darts are pointed at her and her opponent is given a total free pass. >> we should cover both people. >> is something one wrote in college, i mean, if we're all held to that standard, i can't even remember what i wrote in

college, but i certainly didn't describe myself as a marxist or anything, would have never done that, but i think i probably wrote some stupid papers. >> if i described myself as being an extremist in college, i think people wanted to say, well, are you still or when did that change, what was the path, what did you go through. >> fair enough. >> my point is he's scrutiny free right now because the only person get being scrutiny is christine o'donnell. she deserves scrutiny but she's not the only one. >> i think ari has a legitimate point about what you write in college. the republican candidate in virginia for governor went through a scalding campaign because of what he'd written as a student and all that have was sort of revived during that. so he has a fair point this ought to be, both candidates ought to be revived. but my point here is on christine o'donnell, i think the reason why she's now, she's burst into the spotlight as the woman who's probably government the republicans their chance at winning the senate. she is going to certainly contribute to a fear among

republicans about crossing lines and working with democrats as mike castle did. voting for cap and trade, as he did, and have that bring him down sends a very big signal that it's going to be extremely hard to govern and form bipartisan majorities no matter who wins in these elections. and finally, this election with her, you know, is probably going to drive or draw a lot of the republican candidates for president, you know this, draw them to the right. we're going to -- mitt romney was described in the financial times today as the guy who really lost tuesday night because he's too moderate. mitt romney? give me a break, is too moderate. >> there's no question mike castle would have won that seat. so they can't argue that point. i don't know that christine o'donnell has a chance to win, but i also know when rand paul defeated the establishment candidate in kentucky people said rand paul can't win and, of course, he's winning. >> she also just made close to $1 million, she has now a lot of money in the coffers and more is going to be pouring in.

the more folks in the liberal media attack her or the mainstream media or, you know, ask questions, the more her supporters seem to rally around her and raise money for her. >> these are the struggles within parties can be healthy. and i don't want it to go too far and i do think republicans have to be careful that we say to people in -- there are area wez need moderates to win. but let the ideological struggle play out and see which party emerges, but then you also have to build coalitions. parties have to do both. republicans have to do both. conservatives have to do both. >> and obviously, anderson, hopefully the conservative media will cover these stories as well. i also need to speak to the issue david brought up and that is the election hasn't taken place yet. i think it is wrong for us to somehow assume that, look, this is written off, she's going to lose. look.

all the same people who said mike castle, this awesome politician, elected statewide so many times will blow her away, he lost. and so if you're a democrat sitting out there and you somehow think this is going to be a cake walk, she's going to be hitting the ground, hitting those doors, and so i just don't make that assumption. i would say you better get your folks out or you know what? o'donnell might very well be the u.s. senator. >> seems every few years we learn this lesson in tv land, pund ipts, no offense to you guys, don't get it right. i remember pundits predicting john kerry would be the president. >> count the vote. >> it's up to the american people, we're reminded of that every time, and thank goodness for that. carl paladino rocked the republican establishment primary night and is promising to shake things up if elected. he's also making a stink with new campaign mailings that smell like garbage. we'll talk to him about that and a lot of his other positions. she claimed an attacker threw acid in her face.

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ahead, deadly storm ripped through new york city, treed were toppled, thousands left without power. we'll have the latest on that coming up, but first isha sesay joins us. >> hi there, anderson. we've learned tonight an aalleged acid attack in washington state was self-inflicted. bethany storro claimed an unknown assailant approached her august 30th and threw acid into her face. the vancouver police now say she admitted she did it to herself. storro could face criminal charges. baltimore police say john hopkins hospital was the scene of a murder/suicide today. the man who just received an update on his mother's condition shot and wounded a doctor. police say he then killed his mother before taking his own life. the doctor is expected to survive. pope benedict xvi opened a visit in scotland today meeting with queen elizabeth ii at her scottish residence, then

celebrated mass before ply flying on to london. and an ad censored by an italian ice cream maker. the ad showed a pregnant nun eating ice cream with a tag line immaculately conceived, the company says ice cream is our religion. what do you think? >> not a lot of people laughing about that, isha. we'll check in with you 20 more minutes with more headlines. a lot of people saying politics stinks, especially the man we'll talk to next. at least politics in new york. carl pal dino's win shocked a lot of so-called experts. i'll talk to him about the letters he's sending out now and other things. and bank surveillance catches a woman's last moments. ♪

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one of the biggest surprises from tuesday's primaries was in the republican new york gubernatorial race. carl paladino, wealthy conservative businessman stunned

the establish the by beating gop favorite rick lazio. former republican senator joined two democrats in blasting paladino, calling him dangerous, divisive and saying he's running a disingenuous campaign. meanwhile, mr. paladino is pressing on sending out a campaign mailer that actually smells like gar binlg. the scent is meant to drive home his message that something stinks up in albany, the state's capital. joining me now, new york gubernatorial candidate carl paladino. how did you come up with this idea to send out mailer that's actually smell like garbage? >> well, i've been feeling my way through the political scene and somebody suggested that they have this type of thing available, so we looked into it and it's just basically a folder, and then when you open

it, the -- when the oxygen hits the card, the stink starts and the longer you keep -- the longer you keep it open. >> the worse it gets? >> oh, sorry. yeah. the longer you keep it open, the worse the stink gets. >> i'm not sure if -- you're definitely catching a lot of attention with it, i'm not sure if you're going to anger some people who open it and don't want the smell, but it's a political gamble you're taking. >> we've received absolutely no complaints. we've received no complaints and we've actually had a lot of people commend us on it. >> all right. i just want to go over a couple of your positions for our viewers who may not have followed your campaign up until now. abortion. you oppose it. what about in the case of rape or incest? >> no. they have adoption available for that. >> you have a plan for the unemployed and people on welfare and i was reading about it on your website today. you basically suggest renovating prisons and unused college

campuses and say that those on welfare would live in these facilities voluntarily, i assume, and you say, quote, instead of handing out the welfare checks we'll teach people how to earn their check, teach them personal hygiene, the personal things they don't get when they come from dysfunctional homes. critics are saying you are saying people who receive welfare are dirty, that they need personal hygiene lessons. >> no, that's not the case. we're talking about a dignity core that would help people who are disadvantaged move into the mainstream of our society t would give them a pathway to a fulfilling life. yes, it would be basically for able-bodied people who are not otherwise accepted and the majority of welfare recipients would be accepted. but for those able-bodied that would be mandatory. it's a work for the check. >> but is there a dignity in sending them to a prison? >> no, it's not a prison.

the facility that we're discussing was an old tuberculosis center up in the adirondack area of new york and it was for sale by the state of new york. i said rather than sell it, we could use such a facility by just taking the barbed wire down. it's an old hospital facility. it was a dormitory style. >> you've talked about prisons and correctional facilities. we have a bad delay so that's why i don't want to seem like i'm jumping eefr you. there's a slight satellite delay. but you have said about reforming old prisons and retraining guards to become counselors. >> yes. because obviously we have a problem in the state right now with our correction officers, we have less -- we have less prisoners in our prisons. they're shutting down facilities, and in order to keep those people working, to keep those correctional officers, many could be retrained to be guidance counselors in such a program. >> why are you seeing people on

welfare need hygiene lessons? >> i trained troops part of the time i was in the reserves and at that time i learned that a lot of people from dysfunctional environments, they didn't know how to take care of themselves. and i made that remark that we could help them with personal things such as don't wear wet socks, wear two socks, and brush your teeth twice a day, and other hygiene and other matters that involve the individual. >> and you say this would be mandatory, people on welfare would be mandated to go live in these places? >> not people -- not mandated to go into that program, they could go into the education program, they could go into an urban program and live at home, they could -- it's only applicable to those who would choose to go into the rural program and work, say, for instance, in the adirondack mountains or in the -- in an environment that was not at home. otherwise, they could stay home.

i mean, it's a totally voluntary, where you go into the program. most people we feel would take the education option and be able to get an education to lead them into a more fulfilling life. it's intended to help people with their self-esteem and to find a pathway into our society. >> i know a lot of people brought this to your attention this year during the campaign, but now that you're the republican candidate, you're probably new to a lot of people. so i need to ask you about it again. you forwarded a number of x-rated e-mails, one even showing beastialty, a woman and a horse, to a list of associates, how does that jibe with conservative values that you say you hold? >> i apologize to those that were offended by me forwarding e-mails to a personal group of friends. i forwarded them, i did. i'm in the construction industry. we've got all kinds of nonsense like that on a daily basis.

the real obscenity, though, was albany. the real obscenity is the high crimes and misdemeanors we've allowed our political class to take, and feeding at the public trough. >> you're apologizing to those who find it offensive. do you not find an e-mail with a woman and a horse, you know, an x-rated video, isn't that offensive? >> to be frank with you, i don't particularly remember that one. i remember some of the other one that's -- >> you did send it, though. you're not. >> i did, yes, i assume i did. >> it's offensive, isn't it? >> it definitely is offensive. yes. of course. >> you also forward a number of racially offensive e-mails, one of them used the "n" word and i'm showing our view irs one you said showed the rehearsal for president obama's inauguration which is basically images of i think some sort of tribal dance in -- and i'm assuming in africa. you've said in the past this is

just humor, but i mean, i don't understand, why would up find that funny? >> i look back on it and i say, yes, it probably was offensive to some people, i understand that. >> but was it offensive to you? saying it's offensive to some people, that's not really saying it's offensive s that offensive? >> most of the time in sharing these e-mails back and forth, we were paying very little attention during the heat of the day. it was careless. there's no question about it. >> but i mean, are those -- are those e-mails offensive? >> of course they're offensive. yes. i understand how they could be offensive to people and i've apologized to them. >> i appreciate your time. i'd like to go over a lot more issues, i hope to have you on the program again. i appreciate you coming on early in the program we talked about many politicians these days not wanting to come on programs where they feel they may be challenged. i appreciate you coming on and answering questions and we'd love to have you on again. >> i don't have any problem with it. thank you, andersonerson.

>> appreciate your time. still ahead, crime, punishment and a new look at a family, this case is unbelievable, the court case is going on. this say wife, a mom, desperately attempting to save her children's lives and her husband's life. they are being held hostage at home by home invaders. she's withdrawing $15,000 from the bank to pay off the men holding her family. what happens next is unthinkable. [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters. and f-sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more $2, $3 fees.

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in crime and punishment tonight, a home invasion horror. two ex-con accused of slaughtering a connecticut family, the mom ordered to withdraw money from her bank. this is video from the bank, the last time we would see her alive. she was trying to save her kids and save her husband who were trapped at home being held hostage. in the end, her two daughters and that woman died. the only survivor, the husband, the father, now facing the accused murderers in court. describing to the jury the terror that went on inside that house. randi kaye reports in tonight's crime and punishment. >> reporter: you're watching a wife and mother in a desperate attempt to save her family. this newly-released bank surveillance video shows jennifer hawke-petit, 9:17 a.m., withdrawing $15,000 from her bank in the small town of connecticut. it was monday morning, july 23rd, 2007.

about three miles away, something awful, something truly sinister was happening inside her home. her husband, william, was bound and gagged, and along with her two daughters, haley and michaela, was being held hostage. their mom hoped the $15,000 would be enough to convince the two men who allegedly broke in the night before, to spare her family's lives. at the bank she reaches out for help but has to be discrete because one of the two alleged kidnappers was just outside. the bank manager quietly calls 911. 9:21 a.m., police first learn of the home invasion and hostage situation. >> we have a lady who is in our bank right now who says that her husband and children are being held at their house. the people are in a car outside the bank. she is getting $15,000, that if the police are told they will kill the children and the husband.

she is petrified. >> reporter: minutes later, she leaves the bank with the ransom money. >> they told her they wouldn't hurt anybody if she got back there with the money. i think she's walking out now. she's walking out now. >> reporter: 9:26 a.m., hawke-petit gets in her car with steven hayes. the bank manager describes the vehicle to the police. officers are dispatched to the house to set up a perimeter. 9:27 a.m., a police captain tells officers not to approach the house. almost 30 minutes go by. still, not a single officer approaches the petit home. no other authorities are alerted. not the fire department, not state police. in court, police testified that was protocol. in a hostage situation, they said, they don't storm the house. adding they had no reason to believe anyone was in immediate danger. at 9:54 a.m., a police dispatch. dr. william petit who would turn

out to be the only survivor of this horrific crime was in the yard calling for help. he was bleeding badly from his head, his ankles still tied. by now, nearly 40 minutes had passed since the bank manager had warned chesh irpliz about the nightmare unfolding in the family home. they would soon learn jennifer hawke-petit had been strangled, she and one of her daughters, sexually assaulted. in chilling testimony dr. petit described how he had been beaten with a baseball bat, then tied to a pole in the basement. he said the suspects yelled to him, quote, don't worry, it's all going to be over in a couple of minutes. and it was. dr. petit managed to free himself through a basement door but minutes later the house was on fire. his wife and two daughters dead. hayes has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and murder. around 10:00 a.m. the suspects race out of the driveway in the family's suv.

as smoke bill lows from the back of the home, the suspects slam into police cruisers. only then do officers realize the situation has much more urgent than they had thought. randi kaye, cnn, new york. >> it's just so sickening, the story, a family tortured and slaughtered allegedly by these two men. they say they met at a halfway house and plotted the home invasion. one of the men, steven hayes is on trial for his life, to try and save hayes from the death penalty, defense attorneys are pointing the finger at the police of all people saying a delay in flawed response to the scene contributed to the tragedy. it's a risky argument to say the least but is it true? jeffrey toobin and mike brooks joined me earlier. this case is just so stunning. from what you know, mike, should the police have done anything differently when they arrived on the scene?

it was some 33 minutes before they actually saw the people leaving the house. >> from the time of the 911 call from the bank teller telling 911 that, hey, this woman is here, she's in our bank, she says that they've been very nice, that if they give them the money they'll go away. from the time of that call to the time police were able to get a perimeter set up around that neighborhood, but they actually also had someone outside with eyes on the house trying to find out what's going on inside. >> they said there was nothing unusual they could see from the outside going on. >> exactly. from the information they had to work with, from mrs. petit and their procedure that i think they were following, because you don't want to go rush right in, they don't know what the situation's going on inside that house, it could have made things even worse. >> it's sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't. i late to second guess police in something like this, but it's the worst -- it's sort of a

nightmare scenario, someone invading your home, it seems so horrific it can happen and it's a bizarre strategy by the defense. they're blaming the police. even if they had made a mistake, their client still allegedly committed the crime. >> you know, we've all covered a lot of crimes, and i remember vividly when this happened in connecticut thinking, this is the worst. this is the single worst crime i have ever encountered, at least in the united states. and in terms of this defense strategy, the answer is, so what? if the police made a mistake, so what? how does that help the defense? i think the approach here and look, the defense lawyers have to say something, is simply to throw things against the wall, try to blame someone else, try to complicate the story, try to deflect attention. i don't think it's going to work. but i certainly don't blame them for trying it. it is certainly better than focusing on the behavior of their client. >> they tried to go for some sort of a deal that they would

get life in prison, you know, if they pleaded guilty, but the husband who survived doesn't want that. >> right, and mr. petit has become a political figure in connecticut and in fact a state which technically has the death penalty on the books but has hardly executed anyone over the past several decades, mr. petit has become a leader of the forces bringing it back. and he brings of course a moral authority and political attention to the subject that it really hasn't had in many years there. >> you know, mike, you look at this, the bank tape of her, you know, the last images we see of her before she ends up being strangled, raped and killed, if europe the teller, i guess the teller did all she could. they got the money and arerted the police. it's one of those difficult situations where people say don't call the police but have you to call the police. >> oh, they did the absolutely right thing, anderson, by calling the police while she was still there in the bank. even to say, there's one person

in the car, so they knew there might have been another person back at the house. and again, it seemed as if mrs. petit thought, well, if i give them the $15,000 they'll go away and leave us alone because they haven't done anything to us as of yet. >> you know, anderson, in terms of legal strategy, what's going on here, the real defense strategy is to have one defendant blame the other. they're being tried separately. and that is really the heart of the defense attempt to avoid the death penalty is to say things got out of control because of the other guy. >> it reminds me of "in cold blood" the truman capote. >> if is that scary and that bad. >> thanks, anderson. we'll continue to follow that story. up next, new video of the deadly storm that tore through new york city a short time ago. also a new book claiming

michelle obama told france's first lady that she can't stand being first lady and her life is hell. what the white house is saying about those comments, next. sure i'd like to diversify my workforce,

i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com.

>> got an update on the stories we're following, isha sesay is back. >> a powerful and deadly storm blew into new york city early this evening. this video shows how fast the storm moved into the region. the new york fire department reports one person died when a tree fell on top of a car. the storm packing strong winds and torrential rains also left more than 25,000 people without electricity. the senate today passed a $42 billion bill designed to help small businesses hire new employees.

two republican senators broke with their party to support the measure. the house has already passed its version of the bill. a spokeswoman for first lady michelle obama denies mrs. obama told the wife of the french president that life inside the white house is, quote, hell. the book claims the remark was made in march. the french embassy in washington also says it never happened. something of a brouhaha there. >> a brouhaha indeed. another brouhaha i was involved in today, i filled in for regis on "regis & kelly." today we ataped an attempt for largest human dominos. we did it on the deck of the intrepid, take a look. it began with kelly on a mattress. there were hundreds and hundreds of people all on mattresses. >> which number were you? >> i was like 300 and something. there i was. that's kelly. >> this is what happens when i let you out of my sight. you go off to be a human domino.

>> i won't tell you if we set a new world record, it will be tomorrow morning so that will be the tease. >> we'll discuss this after the show. we may have some issues. >> it's very funny. isha, see you tomorrow. thanks for joining us. thanks for watching. welcome to the world of lovaza, where nature meets science. if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, you may also have very high triglycerides -- too much fat in the blood. it's a serious medical condition. lovaza, along with diet, effectively lowers very high triglycerides in adults but has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or strokes. lovaza starts with omega-3 fish oil that's then purified and concentrated. it's the only omega-3 medication that's fda-approved. you can't get it at a health food store. lovaza isn't right for everyone.

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